


The Promise

by SeverusSnep



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:15:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26527339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeverusSnep/pseuds/SeverusSnep
Summary: Severus' dreams have caused a rift in his relationship.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Severus Snape
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	The Promise

Dreams of _her_ had ravaged Severus' sleep for so long. It had nearly ended his current relationship.

“Severus, if you’re in love with someone else you ought to just tell me.” It had come out of the blue.

“What do you mean? I love you, no one else.” He couldn’t say it enough times. He loved her more than he’d ever loved anyone. It wasn’t what she thought, but how could he tell her?

“You say her name in your sleep, it’s nearly every night. What am I supposed to make of that? And then you never want to talk about it, what should I think?”

He was lost; stuck in the shadow of the past love that was gone yet hopelessly ruining the love he had now. Maybe love just wasn’t for him. It would make more sense that way.

“Do you want to stop seeing each other?” He hoped it would give her an easy way out. Little did he know, those words would start a storm. More accurately, a fire. A halo of flames had practically encircled her head as she told him exactly what she thought,

“NO, I VERY WELL DO NOT WANT THAT! _How_ could you ask me that?! You _know_ I love you… but if you _can’t_ talk to me, if you _refuse_ to communicate, then I don’t know what to do. Either way I’m staying with you, and I don’t care if I’m making a mistake in doing so, but I love you and nothing else matters to me. But if that’s what you want then _fine_!” She yelled.

“I don’t want that, I just want you,” tears swam in his eyes, “and I don’t want to lose you because I couldn’t tell you the truth.”

They spent the rest of the day in their room. He told her everything. How he had met a witch when he was a child, and they had become the best of friends. His home life had never been much and she was an escape from everything. She had been all he had. His only friend. He loved her, but they were only children, it was nothing more. They went to school, they did everything together, she knew him like the back of her hand. He had never let anyone come so close to him. He didn’t know the pain that could come with it. Once he did, he vowed to never let anyone in again. He told Hermione how he’d hurt the only person he cared about, and how in losing her, losing their friendship; he had lost everything. He still carried the shame, the guilt. He didn’t want pity. He didn’t even want Hermione’s forgiveness, he just wanted her to know the truth. The truth about why he had spent so long at that school, so much time looking after Potter and her, his truth. 

They both cried, sometimes together and sometimes because of each other. He had bared his soul, hoping that she would still trust him. She did. She held him while he recounted the most painful of memories. He held her while she sobbed for the pain through which he had gone.

“I don’t ever want you to be sad again,” she proclaimed.

“I think that’s inevitable, at some point it's bound to happen.”

“Perhaps, but I don’t want it to ever be because of me, or something I can’t help.”

“I don’t ever want to hurt you,” he said.

“We both have the infinite capacity to hurt each other, but we can promise that we’ll do everything in our power to never do that,” she explained.

“I promise.”

“I promise too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! :) I wish the title was in reference to the When In Rome song lol, but the song _was_ stuck in my head while writing this if that's any consolation.
> 
> (Also, if you noticed my horrible punctuation- no you didn't😉)


End file.
